diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/emacs/custom.texi')
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/emacs/custom.texi | 38 |
1 files changed, 34 insertions, 4 deletions
diff --git a/doc/emacs/custom.texi b/doc/emacs/custom.texi index 4aaf58cc264..618692e479f 100644 --- a/doc/emacs/custom.texi +++ b/doc/emacs/custom.texi @@ -2209,6 +2209,7 @@ Manual}. * Terminal Init:: Each terminal type can have an init file. * Find Init:: How Emacs finds the init file. * Init Non-ASCII:: Using non-@acronym{ASCII} characters in an init file. +* Early Init File:: Another init file, which is read early on. @end menu @node Init Syntax @@ -2556,10 +2557,9 @@ library. @xref{Hooks}. @node Find Init @subsection How Emacs Finds Your Init File - Normally Emacs uses the environment variable @env{HOME} -(@pxref{General Variables, HOME}) to find @file{.emacs}; that's what -@samp{~} means in a file name. If @file{.emacs} is not found inside -@file{~/} (nor @file{.emacs.el}), Emacs looks for + Normally Emacs uses your home directory to find @file{~/.emacs}; +that's what @samp{~} means in a file name. @xref{General Variables, HOME}. +If neither @file{~/.emacs} nor @file{~/.emacs.el} is found, Emacs looks for @file{~/.emacs.d/init.el} (which, like @file{~/.emacs.el}, can be byte-compiled). @@ -2609,3 +2609,33 @@ instance: @noindent Type @kbd{C-q}, followed by the key you want to bind, to insert @var{char}. + +@node Early Init File +@subsection The Early Init File +@cindex early init file + + Most customizations for Emacs should be put in the normal init file, +@file{.emacs} or @file{~/.emacs.d/init.el}. However, it is sometimes desirable +to have customizations that take effect during Emacs startup earlier than the +normal init file is processed. Such customizations can be put in the early +init file, @file{~/.emacs.d/early-init.el}. This file is loaded before the +package system and GUI is initialized, so in it you can customize variables +that affect frame appearance as well as the package initialization process, +such as @code{package-enable-at-startup}, @code{package-load-list}, and +@code{package-user-dir}. Note that variables like @code{package-archives} +which only affect the installation of new packages, and not the process of +making already-installed packages available, may be customized in the regular +init file. @xref{Package Installation}. + + We do not recommend that you move into @file{early-init.el} +customizations that can be left in the normal init files. That is +because the early init file is read before the GUI is initialized, so +customizations related to GUI features will not work reliably in +@file{early-init.el}. By contrast, the normal init files are read +after the GUI is initialized. If you must have customizations in the +early init file that rely on GUI features, make them run off hooks +provided by the Emacs startup, such as @code{window-setup-hook} or +@code{tty-setup-hook}. @xref{Hooks}. + + For more information on the early init file, @pxref{Init File,,, +elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}. |